The new season has truly begun…

I’ve not been doing much on the blog side lately so here goes with some info on the last few months activities.

I planted my garlic as normal in September in modules in the greenhouse but they were really very slow this year. I normally plant them out at the plot end of December but this year only in February and very small growth and root system. They seem to be growing well now. I am growing the garlic through weed fabric this year as my onions did really well last year and no weeding was required other than a few hand pulled weeds.

Since I made my light grow box in January the seedlings have really been growing well. I eventually had to take the chillies and peppers out when I potted up the show onions.. The chillies have really done well and as it’s the first time growing them I’m hoping for a good crop. I hope they keep on growing well without the extra light.

The show onions and leeks are growing profusely. Some of the first sown onions are nearly due for removing from the light box.. then into the conservatory for a couple of weeks then out to the plot into large pots to grow on. I have no space for them so large pots have to do!!

I had to make a makeshift shelf to put the newest seedlings in when I potted the others up as they took up all the space.. A bit hard to keep watered as they seem to dry out quickly due to the locality near the fans and light bulbs.

Anyway they will soon get to be at the lower level of the box.

Sowed my tomato seeds a while ago and most germinated ok but had a few types that I have had to re-sow. They are now fairing well in the conservatoryThanks to Rick on the forum he found a great special offer on summer raspberry plants. We both bought a pack which consisted of 30 canes… 10 of each three different types plus 50 gladioli corms free. So the rasps were planted fairly close together (as my space is limited) within a tubing framework with a wire fencing top to keep them from flopping around. My idea is for them to grow through the holes in the wire and will then be self supporting.. hope it works.

In early Feb I sowed 100 Setton onion sets into modules for getting an early crop and then more first week in March another 100 sets went into modules. They have grown so well. I planted them out (today) 23 March – again through the weed fabric. I made a bigger than normal dibber out of an old shovel handle which is about the same size as the onion and soil pops out the module so a quick hole dibbed through the holes in the fabric and simply pop the onion into the hole and press it in firmly. Really simple job. I planted out 11 rows of pre sprouted onions and 4 rows of sets. I have included 2 rows of Reb Baron onions that I dont normally grow but my Son loves them and uses them a lot for cooking.

With all the wet and cold weather I have not had time to dig over all the beds on the plot yet. But with some hot days recently the ground has dried up quite a bit so have been able to get digging again. I also acquired a Mantis tiller a few months ago and it’s ideal for breaking up the clods of earth and incorporating the fertilizer before planting. Today I fertilized and rotavated the shallot bed, then planted 88 shallots and potato onions. I still have some spare space in the bed and have it earmarked for some seedling shallots. I also need to find space for pickling onions that I sowed yesterday. My Son helped today for a while and cleaned up my strawberry bed.

We have also moved loads of bags of horse bedding/manure that we get supplied free to the site. I still need to move a few more to complete what I require. I’ve also laid out the basic plans for where all the veg will be planted out. My potatoes are chitting nicely and hopefully will get planted out over the weekend. Still need to dig and rotavate the area first. I also have a few trays of broad beans in the greenhouse waiting for their patch to be readied..